The first Democratic presidential debate was a huge success because few Americans actually saw the 8 candidates who showed up. The Democrats cleverly chose the least-watched cable TV news station â€” MSNBC, which hoped to use the debate to double its audience so that it could finally draw half of Shep Smithâ€™s audience.

I was among the estimated 299.6 million Americans who did not watch the debate.

I didnâ€™t catch much of the debate last night. Being that it was on that cable channel, no, donâ€™t tell me, oh, what, oh yeah, MSNBC, I donâ€™t think many others did either.

The fact that they avoided it and still felt compelled to comment on it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. They’ve been practicing for four years using the war…

Then again, there is someone who watched it, possibly after a few drinks and more than likely believing it was American Idol:

Laugh about it, shout about it, when you’ve got to choose, every way you look at this you lose.

Ooh, I’ve still got the song “Mrs. Robinson” running through my head. It was playing on the radio as I drove off to work today. But now it’s evening and I’m — as Paul Simon wrote — “going to the candidate’s debate.” Not going, really. Watching on TV. I said I’d “simulblog,” but, truth be known, this is just a TiVo-blog, and I may just fast forward through some of the candidates. And I’m starting on delay. I don’t want to deceive you, my friends. Let’s start now.

FIRST ADDITION. Mike Gravel? The hell? I was trying to count up who the 8 were. I’d forgotten Dodd. Gravel… that’s news to me. I didn’t even know he was still alive!

We’re told they will be limited to 60 second answers. Cool!

As the level in the wine box lowers, so does discourse, but she gets major credit for prefacing her post with the totally un-ironic reference to Mrs. Robinson.